The Dandelion in the Pavement

Hi my dear friend,

Someone once sent me a message…
A forwarded quote about 
the important role
a parent has. 

About the steady presence
and the unconditional love.
And all the other sunshine things 
you would expect from a forwarded 
message like that.

But as I kept reading 
my skin grew little, 
sharp spikes.

Because apparently,
or so the author says, 
it’s also the harsh lessons
that help build 
“the child’s character”.

I just wanted to roll my eyes 
like a prickly teen. 
And mumble softly 
“What a load of crap!”

Because no one has ever 
grown because of that.

We grow in spite of it.
Like a dandelion stretching 
out of the pavement's grip.

A flower doesn’t bloom
because she’s surrounded
by concrete. 

She blooms 
because that’s simply…
what she does.

Wouldn’t she grow 
if that same seed had landed 
in a nurturing soil?

Of course, she would. 

It’s not the pavement 
that made her glow.

She grew because that’s 
what she was always 
destined to do.

And the same is true
for us humans too. 

We do not grow because
of the pain we’ve endured.
We grow because we just 
want to continue.

The concrete is 
just an obstacle. 

It’s something 
we had to get through…
So that's what we did. 

But sometimes 
we look around ourselves 
and think - 

“Wow! Look at that!
Maybe it was the concrete 
that made me so resilient?!” 

No, my dear, 
it was all you.

No pavement should boast 
that it’s because of them 
a flower has bloomed. 

It’s not the concrete.

It’s the little seed 
inside of you.

With love,
Elina Janevica

Artwork / Constant David Ludovic Artz, "Mother Duck and Her Chicks" (fragment), 19th century / personal collection